Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-03-17
THE BIRDS OF INDIA.
A HINDOO TELLS OF CURIOUS SU-
PERsTIuoNS CONCERNING THEM.

The Owl q Bird of III Omen-St0ries Of
the Peacock-The "Adjutant." the
Crane and the Cuckoo-Legend of the
Chakva-Lost MoneT.
The very interesting quotations from the
SFolk Lore of British Birds" tempt me tell OF
some curious superstitions current in India
about birds. 1 can only, mention few of
them-those that come to my mind at the
moment. 1t may be mentioned, however,
that some Indian legends and sayings about
birds will be found in the pages of the "Hin-
dustani-English Dictionary" by DR.. Fallon,
the only man, European or native, who, 50
far as am aware, ever attempted to collect
these stories and sayings.
In India as elsewhere the common owl is
bird of i'll omen; but white species is held
in high esteem by the Hindoos. The white
owl is always supposed to bring good luck;
hence it is held sacred to the goddess Of pros
perity, and the people are pleased when it
builds its nest in their houses. In the coun-
try these birds often establish their quarters
in the darkest hooks and corners of old
houses, breeding there generally twice year
and producing five or six young ones at
time; and all their screeching and shrieking
is endured for luck's sake. 1t is considered
great good fortune 70 get a glimpse Of q
white owl in the daytime. The crow bears
the same evil reputation in India as in other
countries; its cry thrice repeated being
thought a sure token of death. But in some
parts crow or raven cawing only once on
the left of young woman is held as sign
that her lover is coming to meet her. The
name of the bat is never uttered at night by
the common people, the belief being that the
utterer would soon lose all his property.
A curious legend about the chakwa, of
Brahmini duck, is found all over India FCr
some indisc- ton two lovers were turned into
Brahmini ducks and condemned to pass the
night apart from each other on the opposite
banks of a river. All night long each asks in
its turn if it shall join its mate, and the an
swer is always No. "Chakwa, shall comeF'
"No, chakwi." "Chakwi, shall 1 come9S
"No, chakwa" The chakor, or Indian red
legged partridge, which is found all over the
Himalayas the hen lays from ten to ff-
teen eggs), is said to be euemored of the moon
and to eat fire at the full moon-possibly
from the fact of its seeming to hover about
the moon. The appearance of the chatak,
small bird, is held to presage good shower
of rain; the bird living only on rain drops
and always crying for them
The peacock is said to scream and dance
with joy at the sound OF thunder, and he
dances, dances on; when he looks down he
weeps anon" lat the sight Of his ugly feet,
they say) The peacock is credited with a
strong thievish propensity, as appears from
this saying: "The deer, the monkey, the
partridge, and tie peacock rob the field Of its
store" Anything that betrays itself is ikened
to "a peacock in the thief's houseT-a saying
founded on the story of peacock which
swallowed gold necklace brought home by
a thief. This bird is sacred to the Hindu god
of beauty, who is represented as riding on it
The kite, the hawk and the vulture are all
regarded as very unlucky birds. The screech-
ing of the first brings serious misfortune, the
sight of the second famine and oppression,
and the approach of the third death. By
whirling kite round the head Of MoSleIR
child on Tuesday or Saturday and then let
ting it go great blessings are insured to the
little one Fowlers trade on this superstition.
Kites sometimes carry of gold ornaments;
and Mohammedan women say the reason is
because the young kites viii not open their
eyes till some gold is placed in the nest; hence
the saying, @The philosophers stone is in the
kites nest" The half mythical garuda, q
kind of eagle sometimes called 'adjutant,"
is the mortal enemy of snakes. The legend
goes that the mother Of garuda quarreled
with her sister, who was the mother Of the
snakes, respecting the color of the hole that
was produced at the churning of the ocean;
and since that time there has been constant
enmity between their descendants On the
occasion of garuda's marriage, the serpents,
alarmed at the thought of his having children
who might destroy them, made fierce attack
on him; but he slew them all save one, which
he has since worn as an ornament around his
neck To this day superstitious Hindoos re-
peat the name Of garuda three times when
walking in the fields and going to sleep at
night, as a safeguard against snakes.
The crane is considered to be the most cum
ming of all birds. 1t stations itself quietly by
a pool, apparently absorbed in meditation
till it sees fish to dart upon. So the word
"srane" has become synonymous with the
"hypocrite, traitor, etc" (" IN Sanskrit and the
languages derived from it A crane Is said
to have betrayed the hiding place of one Of
the Pandaya brothers, whose adventures are
described in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata-
The pigeon IS thought to be suspicious
Pigeons are carefully reared in houses, which
they are believed to preserve from decay.
The dove is looked upon as q harbinger Of
good luck The sight of pair Of doves by q
young married lady whose husband is away
from home means that he will come back to
her soon.
There is a woman's saying that the cuckoo's
note heard on the right is an excellent omen;
and vet the cuckoo is held to be an unlucky
bird in most parts of India The bird papiys
of the parrot species, is said to cry @My eye
is going"-from the legend that once a man
seeing many wicked deeds done before
his eyes, died uttering these words, and was
transformed into the bird. Superstitious
people are afraid to do anything wrong be-
fore papiya, lest it should betray them.
One little bird bears the curious designation
Of ''the bird of the lost money; because is
seems to utter in low voice something that
means ''Ohl have you kept, or have / kept
itr' There is tradition that its first snces-
tors were man and wife who, having lost all
their wealth, died heart broken and were
transformed into these birds The country
folk believe that if you jingle money before
them they will curse you, believing it to Be
their own.-St. James Gazette.